Rants on Cycling and on Life:
Photos of people and bicycles that pass in front of my camera

10.21.2008

riddle me this...

riddle me this...why is it that everyone can do as they please... but when a bicycle breaks the law... people shout out at the?

STOP AT STOP SIGNS!OFF THE SIDEWALK!WRONG WAY!THE SIGN SAYS NO BIKES!

in my travels on the bicycle it amuses me how people in their cars feel as if they have the right to give verbal instruction to those on the bike these same people may honk at other cars or pedestriansbut for some reason they feel as if they have a right to give verbal instructions to those of us on the bike

why? please... riddle me this

no one wants a bike buzzing past them as they are about to drive through an intersectionno one wants to feel the breeze of a bicycle passing them as they move down the sidewalkno on want to risk the head on collision with a bicycle heading the wrong way on a one way streetand no one wants to have their dog or child buzzed on the wooded trail by a mountain biker but...the funny part is these people do not realize that this situation can be flipped and flopped

the car drivers are doing all of this and worse each and every time they get behind the wheel....most of them without even realizing it

control the car chaos and the bicycle will fit into the orderuntil then... the bicycle must fit in where it feels most safejust as the pedestrian may cross where they please until it is more safe to cross in the crosswalkthe same goes for the cyclist

the cyclist must put themselves where they feel most safethat place is not always to the right of moving trafficright turning traffic is turning right whether or not the bicycle is there

everyone is bending or breaking the law to suit their personal needseveryday car drivers make that turn where they know it reads.... NO TURN ON REDeveryday car drivers accelerate beyond the SPEED LIMIT... knowing that they are exceeding what has been stated as the maximum speed (should the sign read SPEED RECOMMENDATION?)everyday cars slow and stop and double park in the NO STANDING ZONE to drop off or pick up their spouse or childandeveryday people walk their dogs leashless in the woods where it is common knowledge that there is a leash lawwhy is it that these people can modify the lawbut when a bicycle bends or breaks the law it is a capital offense?

measure the worst case scenario...

a bicycle runs a stop sign... they are more than likely going to get the worst of a collisioneven if that collision is with a pedestrianwhile when the car runs this same stop sign... well... the collision can be fatal to the victim outside of the car... while the driver has some blood on the hood and an insurance claim to file it boggles the mind!

in the woods a dog will cause greater erosion than the bicyclethe bicycle stays on the trailwhile the leashless dog roamsbrushing against small plants stomping on growing seedschasing deer and squirrels hmmm....and these people are pointing the finger?maybe they need to look in the mirror

I can not recall my bicycle ever taking off on its own to chase a deer, a squirrel, or worse yet bite a human!

the car driver needs to break the thought that the bigger car has more rights than those around themthis caste system where the pedestrian and cyclist are third class tickets needs to stopit is unclear to me why each and every car driver feels like they are the king of Siam while those outside of the cars are peasants with no right to space and no right to life so often I see a speeding car go buzzing down the road honking the horn to clear the way of that jay walking pedestrian

why does speeding car trump jaywalking pedestrian?because of size?they are both in the wrongperhaps the speeding car should just slow to accommodate the other person in front of themwhy not?

everyone needs to look in the mirroreveryone needs to slow downeveryone needs to pull in the reignseveryone needs to respect the rights of otherscommon sense and common courtesyit is about respectrespect: self-respect- respect for others-and respect for the world around youif people just took a look in the mirror and then looked at others as people just like themselveswell... this would be a step towards making the world a more civil placeI would love to see DC become a CIVIL CITYbut until people start to behave like people when driving their cars this is never going to happenpeople act in ways behind the wheel that they would never behave like face to facethe car dehumanizes us

I would love to finish this thoughtI would love to make it more cohesivebut I need to walk the dog and head into workmaybe I will go for a trail run!

5 comments:

I drove home last night (rest day from the bike) A driver ahead of me appeared to be intoxicated. Everybody else just sped past annoyed. But I followed and called 911. The guy almost crashed into his garage when he pulled into his driveway.

So it seemed to me that no one cared that this guy drove in our neighborhood drunk off his ass--but when I so much as veer out of the bikelane on this same road, motorists go ballistic--screaming for me to get off the road.

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